This invention relates to a lighting and sound system, in particular having a plurality of combined light and sound devices that may be controlled using voice commands.
Integrated light and loudspeaker systems are known in the art. For example, US-A-2007/222631 describes a system having a plurality of devices, each of which is capable of producing both light and sound. The system of US-A-2007/222631 is arranged to receive an audio signal wirelessly from a sound source, and includes a repeater that sends the received audio signal to others of the devices in the system.
In prior art systems such as the one mentioned above, there are differing power requirements for the components within the unit. Mains power at a higher voltage therefore has to be reduced with a transformer or power convertor placed in a junction box. Lower voltage power to the lighting elements is brought from the electrical junction box to the LEDs. This additional wiring can be expensive and time consuming to install.
It is also known to control the light settings in a system comprising a plurality of lights, such as, for example, a series of LEDs mounted within a ceiling void of a domestic dwelling such as a living room or kitchen. For example, a user may wish to illuminate particular areas (for example, for task lighting) or to adjust the brightness and colour of the lights (for example, for ambience and mood lighting). Such control may be effected by the provision of control panels that replace the existing light switch. However, installation of these panels can require additional wiring, again leading to increased cost and complexity in installation.
An alternative approach to the control of lighting in a distributed lighting system may be to provide a wireless controller. Such wireless controllers may be in the form of a dedicated infrared or Bluetooth remote control that forms a direct data connection with each light in order to control its individual light output.
Still a further alternative approach to the problem of control in a distributed lighting system may be to connect all of the individual lights to a wireless network, and then to provide a smartphone application that is able to control the devices when connected to the same network. For example, in a domestic installation, the lights may each be linked via an 802.11 wireless network or the like to a smartphone that is connected to or in communication with that wireless network. One such current system is offered by Belkin International, Inc under the Wemo™ brand. Such systems, however, require a user to have a smartphone running a dedicated application, and also typically require that the smartphone user be granted access to the router that controls the lights. Thus, in practice, control of such systems may be restricted to a limited number of users.
Distributed loudspeaker systems are also known, with wired and/or wireless connections between an audio source and between individual loudspeakers. Such systems are typically very expensive, and often require a significant amount of installation work to be carried out on walls and/or ceilings. There are also particular challenges with the control and distribution of sound within a building; for example, permitting different content to be supplied to different rooms may require multiple separate controllers and receivers within a single building.
With a system having individual devices containing both a light and a loudspeaker system control is complicated still further. Typically, it will be desirable separately to control the power to the light and loudspeaker elements of the device. For example, it may be desirable to control the volume of the sound output from the loudspeakers, independently of the control of the light output (on/off/dimmed and the like). Achieving such individual, independent control of each separate combined light and loudspeaker device becomes ever more challenging as the number and distribution of devices increases, resulting in potentially significant installation costs due to rewiring, wall and ceiling modifications, etc.
US 2011/151782 describes a plurality of illumination devices, each of which comprises a microphone and a speaker. The object of the system is to be used as a hands-free system for phone calls. However, the quality of the light, sound produced by this system is not sufficient for high-end applications. Moreover, as a result of issues relating to the management of power and heat in these devices, the devices can only operate at low power. This system also requires the user to have their phone in their possession in order to take or make a call using the system.
US 2013/002687 describes a system for providing adjustable lighting and delivering multimedia content that can be mounted on a pre-existing lamp-holder. The devices each include a microphone for capturing and/or recording external audio sources. This document also discusses interaction from gestural and vocal interactions of the user in the proximity of the device.
This system has a projector in its removable top half, to project on the inside of a lamp shade. It also has a diffuse ring of ambient light. This quality of this light may not be suitable for certain applications, such as task lighting. The device has one small microphone, which is non-directional. The bulb can use a battery as a power source when mains power to the light is switched off. As with the system described in US 2011/151782, the devices can only operate at low power due to heat management issues arising from packaging a transformer and electronics in the bulb. Standard bulb fittings are typically heat-insulating and therefore the devices must operate at low power, for safety reasons.
US 2014/285999 describes combination speaker and light source devices powered using a light socket. The devices include sensors, which may include a microphone to detect speech. Speech commands are mentioned in the document. However, the system must pass the speech command on to a speech-to-text device, in order to process it. This system further has the power and heat management drawbacks of being packaged in a bulb and using a standard bulb socket described above. Combined loudspeaker and light devices in the form of bulbs for standard light fittings are limited in physical size and hence audio volume. Moreover, the light or sound emitted by the bulb may be obstructed by the light fitting.
The present invention seeks to address these problems with the prior art.